2.18.2007

Didn't have much on the ol' mind today, so after work I flipped on the NBA All-Star Game. It was halfway over but I figured "Hell, why not blog the second half?"

6:54 PM And performing at halftime is . . . Toni Braxton? Really?

7:01 PM Mmmm, Christina Aguilera. Let the record retroactively show that I was ALWAYS a Christina-guy, even back when she was getting labeled as trashy and Brittney was the queen of pop. I think it's safe to say now Brittney is about an 11 on the trash scale while Christina is clearly the more talented, as well as being more and more often praised for her look and style, which most often is called "glamorous."

7:06 PM Wow, I've been watching for 15 minutes now and already five jokes about Charles Barkley's gambling habits.

7:09 PM They just aired a new Nike Air Jordan commercial. It shows the tragic final seconds of a high school hoops game with Mozart's Requiem playing . . . I don't care what any one says; that's one great commercial. Fantastic. And coming from a great brand (see this commercial as another recent example), one should expect nothing less.

7:14 PM The "Jeep Game Summary" catches me up on the stats up to the half . . . nice to know the East is leading in dunks, 15-9.

7:16 PM I really like the jerseys. It's a few years in a row now that I think the NBA has nailed them.

7:18 PM Amare Stoudemire and Tracy McGrady are both wearing #1 for the West. If I was Eddie Jordan, I'd file a protest with the League office. And yes, I'm calling it the League office. I hate that people call the NBA "the Association."

7:21 PM There was just about fifteen turnovers committed in the last two minutes. I know it's the All-Star Game, but it's really a microcosm of why I don't watch NBA basketball: no defense and sloppy play.

7:24 PM They are playing music during the game over the loud speakers. Is it because it's just an exhibition or is that normal for an NBA game?

7:31 PM The Super Bowl favorite Bud Light "paper, rock, scissors" commercial just aired. I just noticed that the guy must have been carrying that rock the whole time. Who carries a rock around during a BBQ? Those are not people I want drinking my Bud Lights.

7:32 PM Only about sixty mentions of Jeep so far, whether it's a commercial, promo or "sponsored by . . ." At this point I'm expecting Doug Collins to interview the game's MVP inside a Jeep at halfcourt.

7:35 PM I'm willing to bet that Tony Prker keeps his socks on when he makes love. Freakin' Frenchie.

7:40 PM 3rd quarter comes to a close (119-88, people) and even though it's the NBA's showcase for all their stars, I'm still not remotely interested in watching a second more. Now I know why I didn't want to watch this in the first place.

Can baseball start any sooner?

3
comments:

Dude, you can't judge the NBA based on the all-star game anymore than you can judge baseball by its all-star game. At least it didn't end in a tie for crying out loud. I think your conception about the NBA is becoming increasingly outdated. There is still some games that it seems that players take off, but you can certainly say the same thing for baseball. But increasingly, the offense, defense and overall intensity have been better the last two seasons. Watch the Mavs or the Lakers play and you'll see what I'm talking about. Plus, I'd take a HEALTHY Kwame Brown over a Caron Butler right now.Don't misconstrue this comment as being anti-baseball. I'm probably not as jazzed up about spring training as you are--I'd prefer to fast forward to april when the games really count-but I'm pretty excited nontheless.

I could not agree more with Adam. I remember you criticizing the NBA in the same way 2 years ago and I'll bet you've seen no more than 2 games since then. It really is better. And if you're saying you don't watch because of "sloppy play," I'm wondering what level of basketball you do watch. Sloppy play is precisely the reason I prefer the NBA over college ball. I like to see scoring. I like to see teams that run an actual offense. I think your criticism of the Butler-Brown trade is totally unfair. First of all, Kwame is injured which is not his fault. Secondly, it's not that the Lakers didn't like Butler, they loved him. It was a trade to acquire size and achieve a more balanced roster, rather than have the logjam of talented small forwards. When healthy, Kwame has made some great strides since coming to LA as evidenced by his play against Phoenix last year (except in game 7). As a Laker fan, I am still liking the Caron-for-Kwame trade just fine, thank you.